I am an idiot.

[Glucofudge]

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I am venting. I know I'm an idiot.

I am in the process of finishing up my amcas app. Googled myself and found I was on my PI's resume. Found out I had 1 more pub and a chapter in a text!

Now here's the bad news. I started working for the PI (This was over 10 years ago) and was under the impression, the WHOLE time, that I had a monetary award/grant deal which is why I worked for him all summer, and that this was how I was compensated. I was reading my PI's resume and I was not mentioned under any grants/awards received on my behalf!

I sent my resume, with this award listed from 12 years ago to one of my professors who agreed to write a recommendation. It is finished, I just haven't electronically submitted it. My former PI is on vacation, so can't email me until early July. I'd like to submit by the end of this week.

I plan on calling the dept and investigating of they have my records. If not, how can I write my prof who recommended me and tell him? ... Without sounding like I am full of it? I'm so nervous about this process.

 

[Naijaba]

Woa, complex story. Let me see if I can summarize:

You thought you had a grant funding your work with PI #1 and you told a different professor about this grant in your LOR request from him? Then it turned out that the grant doesn't exist?

The answer is: don't worry about it. 12 years ago -- I highly doubt whether people will investigate the source of funding for your summer research that long ago.

 

[CodeBlu]

The politics of research...

You're fine. Submit AMCAS, no one will question it. If they do... you have a story. You didn't lie. It's the truth. PIs are not infallible... BELIEVE ME THEY ARE NOT. Grrrr. I had to claw and chew my way through their bureaucracy to first author on my Nature Biotech paper.

 

[Avoidthetiger]

If your PI had a grant, and was using that grant money to pay you - then that is how your were compensated. I am currently getting some grant money to work on my research - but I am not listed on that grant. I never considered including that on my CV though... so I am confused about why you did. But I guess it is a nice resume boost.

Another possibilities is that a grant was given to the University/Research Institution to pay for a student/post-doc/whatever to participate in summer research. This grant might not have been under the PI's name rather the University (I'm thinking of like Howard Hughes grants that go to support undergrads in research).

Now-if you had submitted your own request for grant money and thought you received it 10-years ago - that's something different... and you are to blame for having a horrible memory. But I doubt your secured your own grant-funding.... because that would be on your CV, not your PIs.

ALSO, don't worry about your LOR writer. I doubt he mentioned it on the letter. And even if he did, so what, at the time you honestly did think you have received that grant funding.

 

[skiing]

Unless i'm wrong, being listed on a grant is completely different from being paid from the grant. if you're listed on the grant, you're responsible for part of the grant - usually a professor or faculty (co-PI of the grant, postdocs officially helping to run the grant activities, etc.) grants will also include a stipend for hiring people... in that case you. but you were not on the official grant application. not sure how it worked with your lab, but a professor is VERY unlikely to include an undergrad on any sort of officially grant application... undergrads are transient and not 'official' enough parts of the lab

 

[Glucofudge]

The name of the award I thought I received was "Undergraduate ____ Research Scholar of the Year"....which is why I am crazy worried. My PI at the time said that 5 students who took his research oriented class would receive it to continue their research in the summer--a 3k stipend for 10 weeks. (After that, my PI wanted me to work for him during the school year.) I KNOW I can't be making this stuff up--too many details I remembered!

My orgo prof is very research oriented, which is why I'm freaking out. I just don't want to appear to be dishonest in any way. Also, the PI teaches med students for one of the schools I am applying to (another reason why I'm freaking out).

I'm waiting for the next 50 minutes to call the dept.

 

[physicsnerd42]

The name of the award I thought I received was "Undergraduate ____ Research Scholar of the Year"....which is why I am crazy worried. My PI at the time said that 5 students who took his research oriented class would receive it to continue their research in the summer--a 3k stipend for 10 weeks. (After that, my PI wanted me to work for him during the school year.) I KNOW I can't be making this stuff up--too many details I remembered!

My orgo prof is very research oriented, which is why I'm freaking out. I just don't want to appear to be dishonest in any way. Also, the PI teaches med students for one of the schools I am applying to (another reason why I'm freaking out).

I'm waiting for the next 50 minutes to call the dept.

Why would your old PI bother listing that award? I've seen my PI's CV. He lists the R01s and the big $500k/year awards, not the small research grants his students get (I'm fellowship supported for my PhD -- which is probably worth $50k/year -- and I don't see that on his CV). Don't worry about. I doubt your current prof is going to even think that your old PI should have listed it.

 

[young2sj]

Googled myself and found I was on my PI's resume

I was reading my PI's resume and I was not mentioned.

so were you mentioned or not..?

 

[Melomare17]

so were you mentioned or not..?

did u just not read the rest of the sentence?

I was reading my PI's resume and I was not mentioned under any grants/awards received on my behalf!

 

[NickNaylor]

The name of the award I thought I received was "Undergraduate ____ Research Scholar of the Year"....which is why I am crazy worried. My PI at the time said that 5 students who took his research oriented class would receive it to continue their research in the summer--a 3k stipend for 10 weeks. (After that, my PI wanted me to work for him during the school year.) I KNOW I can't be making this stuff up--too many details I remembered!

My orgo prof is very research oriented, which is why I'm freaking out. I just don't want to appear to be dishonest in any way. Also, the PI teaches med students for one of the schools I am applying to (another reason why I'm freaking out).

I'm waiting for the next 50 minutes to call the dept.

I agree that the PI just simply my not have included a relatively small award on his/her CV. I imagine that research CVs get pretty lengthy; removing what is comparatively unimportant can help emphasize other parts of the CV.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[Glucofudge]

I agree that the PI just simply my not have included a relatively small award on his/her CV. I imagine that research CVs get pretty lengthy; removing what is comparatively unimportant can help emphasize other parts of the CV.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I'm sorry: I should clarify...

In my PI's 15 page CV (not resume, if that makes a difference)- he mentions students he's mentioned in the past and where they are now, yadda yadda, and he did mention grants for 500$ and 2k under "Funding awarded to my trainees"

Again, he is a visiting lecturer for the med school. We kind of had a bad "break up" 12 years ago (politics, and frankly, I had no idea what I was gonna go with my life), but that was 12 years ago and even after I left he still credited me for my work in the 4 journal articles and chapter in a book.

Haven't heard back from the dept. Decided to just leave my orgo prof's rec as is and not mention the funding in question on AMCAS...I don't want to be misleading anyone at my alma mater -or anyone at all- who decides to have a chat with him.

Sound ok?

Also, how much will I be grilled at an interview about my research from 12 years ago? I'm a clinician now, and so my last 7 years were surely not research focused, and certainly not related to my current field.

Thanks, and you guys rock!

 

[NickNaylor]

1) Even if you're not listed, who cares? Do you think a person reviewing your file is going to take the time to Google your PI's name and look at his/her "15 page CV" to see if you're listed? Keep in mind thousands of applications are reviewed each year.

2) I wasn't asked about my research in detail even though it was only 2-3 years ago. You should be familiar with your work and know what the basic experimental procedures were and the conclusions that you reached, but I doubt they'll ask you extremely specific questions. Then again, there are people who have interviews where they're grilled on very specific details of their work. It all depends on who you get.

 

[RogueUnicorn]

prof could have forgotten. you're being way harsh on yourself and definitely way crazy

 

[Glucofudge]

prof could have forgotten. you're being way harsh on yourself and definitely way crazy

Thanks. I know, I'm going all George Costanza right now.

 

[FIREitUP]

do people really think like this? who goes ape**** over not being listed in someone's lenghty CV; whats wrong with you?

 

[mauberley]

do people really think like this? who goes ape**** over not being listed in someone's lenghty CV; whats wrong with you?

Did you not understand what the OP's concern was?

 

[skiing]

Honestly, my CV is nowhere near 15 pages, and I still frequently forget to add things to it even now. I cant keep track of the abstracts my lab gets accepted and the small awards I win. IT's so annoying to have to open the word doc and copy and paste and format when I'm in a rush and on the go, and I always forget anyhow. I haven't updated my resume since graduation either, with the honors I got or whatever. I kind of A) don't care B) am lazy C) have too much other stuff to do.

Imagine your PI sits down to update his resume. He has 5 pubs to add, 3 awards, a bunch of grants, and he may be thinking also about lunch or his kids or the beakers he needs to reorder at the back of his mind.

You officially received the award right? It's not like the award diudn't happen. So I don't see why you're worried, since it's official that you had it. Do you have any documentation about this (official acceptance email, unofficial written correspondence with your PI talking about it, etc)